A Quiet Space on Campus: Afeka’s Ongoing Commitment to Reservists

Ever since the events of October 7th, Afeka College has been deeply committed to accompanying, supporting, and training its student reservists – not just during active duty, but also during the long and complex process of returning to daily life.

The rate of reserve service at Afeka is unprecedented: About 42% of students have been called up since the beginning of the war, many of them for lengthy stints. Behind these statistics are young people who bear mental strain, academic challenges, and the long-term effects of difficult experiences.

Even after fighting is over, may reservists struggle to return to daily routine at home, work, and academia. Afeka understands the depth of the challenge facing them. Many carry with them terrible sights, painful memories, traumas and invisible wounds that aren’t always obvious. This reality calls for broad responsibility: not just providing guidance and support to the reservists themselves, but also training the entire academic community – faculty and students – to identify distress, ask, show interest, and offer help in a sensitive and attentive manner.

As part of this commitment, and thanks to the generous donation by Prof. David N. Seidman (Northwestern University) and Mrs. Shoshanah Rose Seidman, Afeka will build a “Quiet Tent” on campus: A place that will serve as a quiet, safe space, allowing for personal coaching, mind-body workshops, and resilience activities for reservists past, present, and future and their families, as well as for anyone who bears the effects of the war.

This initiative reflects the deep partnership of values between Afeka and donors who place importance on supporting the State of Israel, and on the understanding that part of the country’s future relies on this generation of young engineers – those who bear responsibility for Israel’s defense, industry, and social resilience.

In addition to building the tent, Afeka continues to hold a variety of workshops, activities, and trainings year-long, both for its reservists and for the academic community as a whole, in order to bolster personal and community resilience, increase awareness, and build the joint ability to recognize distress and provide support.

Being awarded the Defense Minister’s Shield serves as a meaningful recognition of this work, but for Afeka this is only a signpost. The commitment to serve as a supportive, attentive, and responsible home will continue to be at the heart of the college’s academic and social activity in coming years.